What Kind of Alcohol Do You Need To Make Absinthe?
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What Kind of Alcohol Do You Need To Make Absinthe?
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By admin | May 26, 2012
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Many people are interested in making Absinthe at home. Some cannot get hold of a quality wormwood Absinthe in their home country, some want to make a stronger Absinthe with a higher thujone content, some want to save money and others just want to have fun. However you make Absinthe, whether you distill it, steep herbs in alcohol or use Absinthe kits, you will need to use an alcohol base. So, what kind of alcohol do you need to make Absinthe at home?
What Kind of Alcohol Do You Need to Make Absinthe at Home?
Henri-Louis Pernod, who distilled commercial Absinthe in the early 19th century, used a wine alcohol base which he distilled with herbal ingredients such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, hyssop, angelica, lemon balm, star anise, juniper, veronica, dittany and nutmeg. Wine is the traditional base for Absinthe.
Most recipes online involve distilling or steeping herbs in a neutral alcohol base such as Everclear, vodka or white rum.
How Do You Make Absinthe?
Distillation of liquor without a license is illegal in many countries and also you need the right equipment and you need to know what you are doing. So, what are the other ways of making Absinthe at home?
– Using a recipe from the Internet and steeping herbs in Everclear or vodka. This usually involves steeping herbs such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, star anise, calamus root, mint, coriander cloves etc. for a few days or even a couple of weeks in the alcohol and then filtering. Only distillation will give you a true Absinthe, this will just give you an Absinthe flavored vodka.
– Using an Absinthe Kit – Most of the kits available online are just steeping kits. True, the herbs are already blended for you and the company might even provide you with a filtering system, but you are just steeping them in vodka again and making a flavored vodka.
– An easier and better way to make Absinthe at home is to order an Absinthe essence from AbsintheKit.com. This company produces essences for the Absinthe industry and the essences are produced by distilling traditional Absinthe herbs in alcohol. The distillation is done for you and all you have to do is mix the essence with vodka or Everclear and you have a true Absinthe.
The essences from AbsintheKit.com are available individually for $3.95 to make one 750ml bottle of Absinthe, or in kits which make 14 bottles of Absinthe and which cost $29. A very economical way to make a real wormwood Absinthe safely and easily.
The essences come in four varieties:-
– Classic Green Essence to make a classic “verte” Absinthe with a thujone content of 35mg per bottle.
– Clear Absinthe Essence to make a clandestine La Bleue style Absinthe. This also has a thujone content of 35mg.
– Orange Essence to make Absinthe with a twist. This essence will make a yellow-orange colored Absinthe with a natural orange flavor and a thujone content of 35mg.
– Strong 55 Essence will make an Absinthe with a higher thujone content (55mg) and a more bitter wormwood flavor.
A kit also includes a handy plastic measure and 14 artistic bottle labels. All you need to supply is the neutral alcohol base.
What kind of alcohol do you need to make Absinthe at home? Neutral alcohol which does not have a strong taste of its own – Everclear, vodka or 151 rum.
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